PHASING OUT OF ENVIRONMENTALLY HARMFUL FLOURCARBONS

Interest in how chemicals are used in the manufacture of clothing is on the increase globally, not only through the REACH legislation but also in the demands being made by consumers. One of the hottest topics at the moment is the harmful effects on the environment and health of the waterproofing of fabrics using so-called perfluorinated compounds (PFOA).

Mountain Horse vision is not just to make good garments at the right price but also to ensure that we comply with legislation and that we are a frontrunner when it comes to our work on phasing out chemicals which are classed as unsafe.

Mountain Horse are gradually phasing out water-repellent impregnation with perfluorinated compounds and replaced it with a PFC-free water repellent, meaning the garment is completely free from environmentally harmful fluorocarbons.

Fluorocarbons have been used in the clothing industry for many years in waterproofing products, amongst other things for technical garments such as shell clothing.

Mountain Horse decided to phase out perfluorinated compounds because they have a harmful effect on our environment and our health due to their persistence in the environment.

For performance reasons, it is important that waterproof autumn and winter garments have a water-repellent surface. Otherwise, the garments may feel heavy in wet conditions even though it does not affect the garments waterproof properties. We are now moving to a fluorocarbon-free surface treatment. We must point out, however, that this more environmentally friendly treatment is not as good at repelling water as the environmentally harmful PFCs.

But the decision was an easy one, because we put the environment and our health first!